Gas prices got out of hand quickly

As I drove around town working on a
story about
fuel prices yesterday, I thought of a quote from
Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy: "Boy, that escalated quickly. That really got out of hand
fast."

In the span of an hour or two, I saw the price of regular unleaded rise from
$2.89 to $3.29 at some stations. The region’s daily average price leapt from $3.03 to $3.13,
according to
AAA and GasBuddy.com.

And, I was talking to consumers as it was happening. At some stations, drivers
said they saw $3.29 prices and drove around until they found it for less than $3.

At other stations with low prices, the customers didn’t know how fortunate they
were until I told them.

I got a few calls and messages from people who were upset that prices changed so
quickly. Several people pointed out that crude oil prices had fallen. Everything about this was
familiar, the subject of dozens of previous stories on the energy beat.

What was different, as I saw it, was actually being on the road as the prices
were changing and seeing how quickly it happened. This was a matter of hours, or even an hour, when
there was a fundamental change in the cost of an essential commodity. Boy, that escalated
quickly.